Ukraine awarded Britain's Keir Starmer its "Order of Freedom" honour on Thursday as the outgoing prime minister made his final visit to the capital, Kyiv.
Starmer is set to depart Downing Street on Monday and be replaced by former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who only became an MP again last month.
"Britain has always been, and remains, with Ukraine, and we value this immensely," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Starmer at a press conference in Kyiv.
"I want to thank you personally and wish you good luck," he said.
Starmer thanked Zelensky and pledged continued support for Kyiv, saying that even though he was leaving, Britain's support for Ukraine "will never change."
"Your fight is our fight. Your security is our security. And the United Kingdom will not waver," he said.
Two of Starmer's Conservative party predecessors as prime minister, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, have previously been awarded the Order of Freedom.
Burnham will become leader of the ruling Labour party on Friday before taking over as prime minister on Monday after meeting head of state King Charles III.
He will be the UK's fifth leader since Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022.
Starmer announced his resignation on June 22 after losing the confidence of Labour lawmakers, following several domestic policy U-turns that impacted his popularity and regional elections that badly bruised his party.
He is held in high regard by many foreign leaders though, including for his work on Ukraine and commitment to NATO.
Starmer, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, helped lead efforts to establish a peacekeeping force aimed at deterring Russia in the event of a peace deal.
On Monday, Britain joined the European Union's 90-billion-euro ($103 billion) support loan for Ukraine.
AFP
